Shalom

Second Week of Advent
Saturday December 14, 2013

 Read: 1 Samuel 2:1-8

 There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.—1 Samuel 2:1-3

A friend recently told me she was disturbed by the scripture that she had read that morning. It told of extreme poverty leading to starvation that resulted in mother’s agreeing to eat their children. I said in my great knowledge, “I have read the entire Bible more than once and do not recall ever reading that.  Are you sure that is in the Bible?” She promptly found a Bible and proved my memory of detailed Biblical stories to be lacking. (See 2 Kings 6:28) Sometimes we read what we want to read; take in only that which we can either readily understand or that agree with our predispositions. Sometimes we are challenged to dig deeper, look at the story from another’s perspective, place it in context, and glean from it what is pertinent and what is not to our lives today. As we seek shalom for all, we may want to practice the ways of the God of knowledge who weighs action carefully by broadening our world view.

 On Tuesday we considered the noise of the news we have available to us today. I would encourage all to dig deeper to find out more about the issues that concern us. Here is a listing of just a few books that others and I have found helpful and you might too. 

Shelly Tochluk, Witnessing Whiteness: The Need to Talk About Race and How to Do It (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010) ) This book is designed to both help whites gain a clearer picture of what it means to be white in America while also providing insight for peoples of color who may be helped in understanding the things about white people that mystify them.

 Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D., Philip E. DeVol, and Terie Dreussi-Smith, Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities (aha Process Inc, 2011).  See also http://www.bridgesoutofpoverty.com. This is a must read for anyone grappling with the challenges of freeing people from the chains of poverty. 

Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (Picador, 2011). Author Barbara Ehrenreich goes undercover to see what it would be like to live on the salary paid to waitresses, etc. It is an insightful book. 

Books I have not read but are recommended by people in the know who have:
Michelle Alexander, Cornel West (Introduction), The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (The New Press, 2013). This book takes head on the challenges of racism in our prison systems.—Recommended by Rev. Jesse Jackson, from OKC

 Anne Leonard, The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change (Free Press, 2010). This book basically covers the chain of human consumption. It entails the beginning of a consumer item to its death, and includes the story of all the resources used along the way.
                                                                            —Recommended and annotation by Cal Corbin   

Jared Diamond, Collapse; How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2004). Yes, it is huge. However, I think that the Prologue (23 pages, A Tale of Two Farms),  plus the final chapter (40 pages), together are excellent summaries of the challenges and the few rays of hope. Diamond writes with passion but without getting emotional or overwrought. As a good academician, he tells the reader what he is going to say, says it, then tells the reader what he said. Although the book is almost a decade old, I think his points remain relevant. Not for the faint of heart or soul.—Recommended and annotation by Susan Hauser. 

Carroll, Daniel, Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible (2008) along with Sojourners, Strangers In the Land–a study guide based on the Carroll book.
—Recommended by Richard Klinge

Gomez, Jose,  Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation (2013) Written by a Catholic Archbishop who has been involved in the fight for the human rights of the undocumented for decades.
                                                                           —Recommended and annotated by Richard Klinge

 Prayer: Holy One, increase not only our knowledge but also our understanding as you call us to action. Amen.

All scripture passages are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version.